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1 – 10 of 489Victoria Hardy and Phil Roberts
It is hard to find good news stories about disasters. Disasters seriously damage an organisation’s health. Of businesses that experience a disaster, 40 per cent never reopen and…
Abstract
It is hard to find good news stories about disasters. Disasters seriously damage an organisation’s health. Of businesses that experience a disaster, 40 per cent never reopen and 30 per cent close within 2 years. Perhaps because of this, over 80 per cent of UK facility managers in a recent survey now report that they maintain a Business Continuity Plan which most of them review at least once a year. An increasing number, however, now find themselves responsible for a portfolio of international facilities spanning continents and time zones. This paper looks at some real life implications of global business recovery planning. In the wake of September 11th, one can hardly do less. This paper provides strategies and justifications for international emergency planning procedures and processes. Practitioners will gain valuable information from actual events and case studies to validate the concepts offered as a model. It may seem that some of the information and processes which are outlined in this paper are obvious; but that is the point. The obvious can be overlooked, and excuses can be made for the lack of implementation of emergency plans. But those excuses will not stand in the light of real disasters and cataclysmic events.
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Victoria Hardy, Kathy O. Roper and Suzanne Kennedy
The purpose of this paper is to determine how facility managers currently plan for emergencies and disaster recovery. Although preparation and drills have been demonstrated to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine how facility managers currently plan for emergencies and disaster recovery. Although preparation and drills have been demonstrated to improve lifesaving and business recovery capabilities, many organisations still do not have these plans. The scope of unpreparedness and reasons for lack of preparation were key issues, along with preferred methods to gain support for setting up plans.
Design/methodology/approach
Online surveys sent to members of facility management (FM) groups within the USA were utilised. Qualified FM professionals made them relevant survey groups.
Findings
With 78 percent of respondents responsible for their organisation's emergency preparedness planning, only 87 percent in 2007 and 92 percent in 2008 actually have these plans in place. Reasons for lack of plans included “other priorities taking precedence” and “lack of personnel to address the issue”. Provision of sample or boilerplate templates could result in improved performance.
Research limitations/implications
US FM professionals were surveyed. Results in non‐US locations may provide different information; locations with strong mandates for emergency/disaster plans would be expected to have better results. Industry types were not identified in this initial research data; however, future research could help to align specific industries' needs.
Practical implications
Despite 11 September and other tragedies, many organisations are still delaying or not understanding the importance of emergency/disaster recovery plans for their employees and business continuity.
Originality/value
Direct feedback from FM professionals was utilised to understand emergency preparedness/disaster recovery planning. This is the first survey to report details of the many organisations still lacking these critical plans.
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Dean Pierides, Stewart Clegg and Miguel Pina e Cunha
Paradoxes are historically embedded in institutions and organizations. Latent paradoxes pose danger if they become salient; sociological analyses can identify historically…
Abstract
Paradoxes are historically embedded in institutions and organizations. Latent paradoxes pose danger if they become salient; sociological analyses can identify historically embedded latent paradoxes. The emergency management paradox, in which the state invests vast resources, establishing formidable organizational arrangements that rely on knowledge to respond to unanticipated events in advance of their occurrence, even though such events can only ever be known after they occur, is a paradox of this kind. Deploying methodological “dual integrity” we trace through historical description and sociological conceptualization the institutional and organizational history of the emergency management paradox in Australia, where uncontrollable bushfires are becoming increasingly common, before drawing more general conclusions about how a response to grand challenges, such as climate change, demands an interdisciplinary understanding of the rituals and realities of paradoxes that emerge historically from our collective attempts to handle uncertainty via risk. Our research serves as a warning of the grave consequences that can result from ignoring a paradox’s history, whether intentionally or unwittingly.
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This paper aims to base the exploration of entrepreneurship on the study of the creation of new technological ventures in the emerging fields of bio and nanotechnologies.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to base the exploration of entrepreneurship on the study of the creation of new technological ventures in the emerging fields of bio and nanotechnologies.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the study of various databases and media archives, internet searches, business cases and in‐depth interviews, the study examines how regulation, institutional funding and R&D orientations constitute key components of the success of new technological ventures involving bio‐and nanotechnologies applications. It then studies what impact the actions of non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) can have on these components, and therefore, what influence they can have on entrepreneurship.
Findings
Finds that by introducing shifts in the environment leading to new technological ventures, NGOs influence entrepreneurship.
Originality/value
This new approach of entrepreneurship will begin to fill an existing gap in the literature concerning the study of the interface between NGOs and business. The model which is proposed will hopefully lead to further theorization concerning the relations between institutional change and entrepreneurship.
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Aarhus Kommunes Biblioteker (Teknisk Bibliotek), Ingerslevs Plads 7, Aarhus, Denmark. Representative: V. NEDERGAARD PEDERSEN (Librarian).
Microfoundational research increasingly strives to examine the interlinkages between various higher- and lower-level structures. To better capture microfounded change processes, I…
Abstract
Microfoundational research increasingly strives to examine the interlinkages between various higher- and lower-level structures. To better capture microfounded change processes, I develop the multi-dimensional concept of institutional entrepreneurs’ skills that defines actors’ abilities to enhance institutional change. By a systematic literature review on institutional entrepreneurship, I identify seven institutional entrepreneurs’ skill dimensions: (i) analytical skills, (ii) empathic skills, (iii) framing skills, (iv) translational skills, (v) organizational skills, (vi) tactical skills, and (vii) timing skills. The established concept provides opportunities for future microfoundational research by examining the formation and the application of the seven skill dimensions.
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This chapter examines the acts of burial and exhumation in three contemporary British history plays. For the purposes of this argument, a ‘history play’ may be defined as a piece…
Abstract
This chapter examines the acts of burial and exhumation in three contemporary British history plays. For the purposes of this argument, a ‘history play’ may be defined as a piece of writing for the theatre that engages with historical events or settings. Such plays inevitably, at the moment of their staging or revival, take on particular meanings for audiences, since theatre as a live, durational art form encourages spectators to compare the historical events depicted with their present historical moment. The chapter argues that acts of burial and exhumation in contemporary British theatre are intimately tied to notions of land, soil and belonging. These became increasingly pertinent ideas in the UK’s political climate in the years following the 2016 Referendum on membership of the European Union. Of the three case studies, Victoria by David Greig (2000) dates from more than a decade before this vote, whilst Common by D. C. Moore (2017), and Eyam by Matt Hartley (2018) were written and staged in the interim between the Referendum result and the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. All three, however, feature corpses on stage as a means to consider time, temporality, place and history. Each play offers a different interpretation of what it means to play dead and to stay dead.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine expectations of Generation Y (born between 1980 and 2000) entrants to Indian industry, in respect of their perspective, job experiences…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine expectations of Generation Y (born between 1980 and 2000) entrants to Indian industry, in respect of their perspective, job experiences, considerations and initial employment expectations. Keeping in mind that organizations are required to prepare for the expectations of Generation Y. Human resources (HR) practitioners should consider the next generation as strategic business partners in the twenty-first-century workplaces, questions ignite about Generation Y’s values and aspirations and how we can engage them in our workplaces. This study was an attempt to look at Indian Gen Y employees who comprise almost half of the Indian working population and are growing at a rapid pace. Effective understanding of Gen Y will lead to the designing of effective HR policies and environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing quantitative research methods, an exploratory study was undertaken with 520 employees (all of whom fell into the category of Generation Y) from various industries.
Findings
The study found that many of the propositions contained within the Generation Y literature were reflected among participants in relation to their future career and lifestyle aspirations. This hints to the need for industry to carefully benchmark employee expectations and experiences to ensure commitment to the sector.
Research limitations/implications
Being an exploratory study, the results are not generalizable to the wider population. The findings frame a future longitudinal study on the careers of Generation Y graduates as they move from the anticipation to the encounter stage of their career development. This will seek to further explore the implications of Generation Y values, including those relating to diversity and equality which were not raised as an issue in this preliminary study.
Practical implications
The findings of this research contribute to our knowledge of the career aspirations of Generation Y. The paper indicates to employers some of the future benchmarkings in recruitment and HR practices that they might adopt to meet the needs of this generation of employees. It is anticipated that this paper will interest new and experienced HR practitioners. Interest might spark ongoing inquiry into effective approaches for employee engagements, specifically to Gen Y employees who will be ruling the workplace in the coming decade. The Gen Y has also led to attrition problems. Therefore, this paper will help in the effective understanding of Gen Y and designing strategies for internal benchmarking in various policies.
Originality/value
This work is a unique effort to look at the common expectations of the Gen Y employees, from the workplace. The findings highlighted the general expectations which are normally neglected in high strategical environment of today’s tech-savvy industry.
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Ely Laureano Paiva, Rafael Alcadipani, Kenyth Alves De Freitas, Larissa Alves Sincorá and Arun Abraham Elias
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how three core elements of critical management studies (CMSs), “de-naturalisation”, “reflexivity” and “(non)-performative intent”, can…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how three core elements of critical management studies (CMSs), “de-naturalisation”, “reflexivity” and “(non)-performative intent”, can help expand the current debate in the supply chain management (SCM) field.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used a systematic literature review to select 103 articles published in 12 high-ranking journals in the SCM field based on the Academic Journal Guide of the Chartered Association of Business Schools.
Findings
The findings of this study suggest that SCM studies can be narrowed down into four major CMSs themes: “power”, “ethics and environmental issues”, “diversity” and “working conditions”, but even these themes are still under-discussed and undertheorized in SCM. The literature the authors reviewed is more concerned with explaining these phenomena than questioning them and proposing new agendas. This paper, therefore, will discuss how these three core elements of CMS can help transform the “hidden” issues of SCM, which it will do by illustrating it in the context of buyer–supplier relationships and lean manufacturing.
Practical implications
This research will encourage SCM scholars who are interested in conducting more critical studies and teaching the harmful effects of global supply chains.
Originality/value
This paper highlights that a combination of SCM and CMS approaches is important when we decide to adopt a more critical “constructive” view of supply chain challenges and engage practical and critical views, respectively, to generate knowledge that not only increases (corporate) performance but also highlights social needs and values.
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Most librarians in libraries of several years standing must have been confronted with the difficulty of obtaining copies of certain books which have been allowed to go out of…
Abstract
Most librarians in libraries of several years standing must have been confronted with the difficulty of obtaining copies of certain books which have been allowed to go out of print by their publishers. The number of such books is rapidly increasing, and among them are works which have taken a recognised place in English literature, as well as many others which have obtained a permanent value by being enshrined in the catalogues of hundreds of public and other libraries. In course of time many of these books are worn out, and it becomes necessary to replace them with new copies. It is then the discovery is made that fresh copies cannot be obtained, and the librarian is filled with dismay on receiving a long list of books from his bookseller marked with the ominous sign “O/P.” Time after time this experience is repeated, till the librarian begins to wonder if any of his catalogue entries of certain authors will stand good. A temporary relief is sometimes obtained by advertising for second‐hand copies, but even these are becoming more difficult to procure, and in the case of novelists like G. P. R. James, James Grant, and Harrison Ainsworth, only three volume editions are reported. It is, therefore, quite evident that the time has arrived for some combined effort to be made by the librarians of the country, if their shelves are to be kept in agreement with their catalogues.